A low-fat diet typically means eating less fat, no matter what kind it is. This can be an issue. If you focus on cutting down on saturated fats, that would be beneficial, but cutting back on healthy unsaturated fats can be harmful. While it might help with weight loss in the short term, it can negatively affect your health if followed for extended periods.

Effects on the Immune System

Severely restricting fat intake can weaken your immune system and lead to more frequent illnesses. Your body needs dietary fat to produce several molecules that stimulate the activity of your immune cells. Essential fatty acids are also important for the growth of immune cells. Your body relies primarily on omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acids) and omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acids) for this purpose.

Effects on the Brain

Omega-3 fatty acids are a vital part of the brain and are well-known for their anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.

It has been suggested that omega-3 fatty acids may play a role in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions and brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, dementia and bipolar disorder. Numerous studies have shown a link between low omega-3 levels and an increased risk of depression.

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA, are associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. They may contribute to this by lowering triglycerides, a form of fat found in the bloodstream. Elevated triglyceride levels can increase the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.

The ketogenic diet emphasises high fat intake, with minimal carbs and a low to moderate protein level. Typical foods include butter, cheese, eggs, meat, nuts, oils, shellfish, and seeds. While this diet can lead to significant weight loss, it's not healthy for your body over time, similar to the low-fat diet.

Effects on Muscles and Exercise

Glycogen is how the body stores carbohydrates, mainly in the liver and muscles. It serves as the main energy source during exercise, especially when the intensity is high. When you work out, your body uses glycogen to power your muscles and keep blood sugar levels stable. Following a very low-carb diet can deplete your glycogen stores, leading to less endurance and power.

The keto diet can hinder your ability to perform high-intensity workouts for extended periods because your muscles will use up glycogen quickly, causing blood sugar levels to drop. This can negatively impact your aerobic and anaerobic performance, as well as your strength and speed. Sticking to this diet may weaken your lifting ability and reduce workout effectiveness.

Effects on Digestive Health

The keto diet restricts many high-fibre foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This can lead to constipation and other digestive issues. It may also disrupt the balance of gut bacteria, which are important for your immune system and metabolism.

Effects on Kidneys

When you follow the ketogenic diet, your body relies on fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Eating too much animal fat and protein can lead to higher blood acid levels. This acidosis can lower the pH of urine, increase calcium in urine, and decrease protective citrate, which raises the risk of developing painful kidney stones.

Bulking and cutting are popular concepts in bodybuilding and fitness. They represent different stages of diet and exercise focused on achieving specific objectives.

Note for Sisters: When it comes to these approaches, the cutting phase is often the bigger challenge for women. Bulking has been added here to give you a complete understanding of the concept and to help you see why body recomposition is ultimately a better path.

Bulking involves eating more calories than you burn, aiming to build muscle. On the other hand, cutting entails eating fewer calories than you burn, with the goal of losing body fat while maintaining muscle mass.

The amount of calories you need for bulking and cutting depends on your age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. You can use formulas like the Harris-Benedict equation to estimate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the number of calories you need at rest. Then, you can multiply your BMR by an activity factor to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which is the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. To bulk, you need to eat more than your TDEE, and to cut, you need to eat less than your TDEE.

Calculate Your Baseline

Common Mistakes and Effects on Health

When bulking, a common mistake people make is adding too many calories beyond their maintenance level. You only need a slight surplus of about 100 calories above your TDEE to effectively build muscle without gaining excess fat. Many people mistakenly add over 400 calories mostly derived from unhealthy foods, which can lead to unwanted fat gain over time. This excess fat can harm your heart, blood pressure, insulin levels, and immune system, making it difficult to lose later on due to a lack of commitment.

The cutting phase is often tougher for most people. It requires controlling cravings and testing your willpower. However, staying in a caloric deficit for too long also has its disadvantages. Prolonged caloric deficits can lead to malnutrition, so it's important to cycle your approach. If you start feeling overly tired or notice a significant drop in strength and muscle mass, consider increasing your calories and adjusting your workout plan.

Simultaneously bulking and cutting challenges the idea that you must choose one strategy. It emphasises body recomposition, which involves building muscle while shedding excess fat. This approach tends to be more sustainable in the long run compared to focusing solely on bulking or cutting, but it demands greater patience to see noticeable results.

The Truth About Calories

The most optimum calorie intake is closer to your baseline maintenance calorie intake — what your body is naturally designed for. This method safely stays there, just minutely reduced, allowing you to sustain this way of eating all year round — for the rest of your life — without cycling on and off.

To achieve this state, aim for approximately 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and reduce your daily caloric intake by 200-300 calories from your maintenance level.

Important Note: A healthy, balanced diet is essential while following this approach; without it, the benefits will be lost.

Positive Impacts on the Immune System

In contrast to a low-fat diet, your fat consumption will not be limited; rather, it will be balanced, resulting in enhanced immunity due to omega-3 fatty acids.

Impact on Digestive Health

By adhering to a balanced diet that includes sufficient carbohydrates and fats, which will include fibre-rich foods such as fruits and whole grains, your digestive system is less likely to experience constipation and will not adversely affect the beneficial gut bacteria present in your stomach.

Balanced Effects on the Body

By maintaining a balanced position between bulking and cutting, the adverse effects associated with both extremes are mitigated. This approach helps to minimise excessive fat accumulation, thereby safeguarding your body against heart disease, high blood pressure, glucose fluctuations, and immune system complications caused by excessive bulking. Additionally, it prevents malnutrition and muscle loss, which are often consequences of a rigorous cutting phase.

After reviewing the evidence, the path forward is clear. Fad diets like low-fat and keto may offer short-term results, but they come with significant risks to your immune system, brain, digestion, kidneys, and overall long-term health. Bulking and cutting can also be problematic when taken to extremes, leading to unwanted fat gain or malnutrition.

We could have followed keto or low-fat diets for these two months, but they would have affected your training and health. Even in just two months, the signs would have started showing — reduced energy, weaker workouts, brain fog, digestive issues, and compromised immunity.

Body recomposition is the sustainable answer, and that is exactly what Sisters PHA Shred is built on. By eating balanced meals with adequate protein, healthy fats, and fibre-rich carbohydrates, you build muscle, burn fat, and protect your health — all at the same time. It requires patience, but the results last a lifetime.

Do not follow extreme diets. They harm you in the long run. Instead, nourish your body with balance, train consistently, and trust the process. Your body is your foundation — treat it with the care it deserves.